USDA Forest Service Celebrating Wildflowers
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Preserving WildflowersMost wild flowers soon wither if you pick them, but you can preserve them for a long time by pressing or drying them. Choose only flowers that you know are common, and do not pick them unless there are lots of them. Remember to pick a stem with a leaf, or take a separate leaf to press with it. Flat flower heads like buttercups, violets, Blue Columbine, Wild Flax, and Prairie Star press well. Avoid very bulky flower heads like Red Clover, sunflowers, or Teasel. It is better to dry those. Take a plastic bag to put the flowers in. It will help to keep them fresh until you get home. Pressing WildflowersYou can buy a flower press ready-made, or you can make your own. What you will need to get started
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Drying WildflowersDrying is even better than pressing for preserving wild flowers. It keeps their shape as well as their color, and in some cases dried flowers are hard to tell from fresh ones. Members of the daisy family, like daisies, thistles, and dandelions all dry well. Thistles, Field Scabious, and roses are good too. Always pick the flowers just before they are in full bloom. Don't pick any flowers that are beginning to fade or wither, unless of course you wait until they go to seed. Poppies, Teasel, and many other seed heads look very attractive dried. So do grasses. Continue on to see how to air dry your own flowers! Air-Drying WildflowersThe easiest way to dry flowers is simply to tie them up in a bunch, hang them upside-down, and dry them for a few weeks. What you will need to get started
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Continue on to learn another way dry more delicate flowers. Drying More Delicate FlowersSome flowers lose some of their shape and color if they are just air-dried. It's better to dry roses, lilies, and anemones using a mixture of cornmeal and borax, which you can buy from a supermarket or grocery store. This way preserves leaves better too. What you will need to get started
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Last modified: Tuesday, 24-Jun-2008 21:54:42 EDT